Specialist nursing cuts for diabetes patients could become a 'timebomb'

NURSING cuts are stoking a diabetes timebomb of untold misery and huge costs, it was claimed yesterday.

Specialist nurses are needed to keep diabetic patients out of hospital [GETTY]

The relentless rise of Type 2 diabetes, fuelled by rampant obesity, is outpacing the NHS’ ability to help patients, said a senior nurse.

“The number of people with diabetes is growing each year but where are the nurses to deal with it? If we don’t invest money now we are facing a timebomb of massive costs dealing with the complications such as amputations and blindness,” said Keith Booles, a diabetes nurse educator, at the Royal College of Nursing Congress, in Liverpool, yesterday.

“It is scandalous. Caseloads are going up yet the number of specialists nurses are being reduced.

“Nurses need to be trained and educated to give good care and at the moment that clearly is not happening.”

More than three million people in the UK have been diagnosed with diabetes - 90% Type 2 - with a further 850,000 believed to be undiagnosed. Another 14 million, one third of the population, were reported as being borderline diabetics, according to recent research.

The annual £10 billion NHS diabetes treatment bill is forecast to rise to £19 billion in 20 years time but 80% of the cost is taken up by medical complications such as amputations, sight problems and renal failure.

It is scandalous. Caseloads are going up yet the number of specialists nurses are being reduced

“Good care means less complications, less people going blind, less amputations and less people going to hospital which saves money.

“It is sensible to spend the money now on specialists nurses who can help patients avoid the serious conditions that will cost so much in the future.

“It is illogical to spend fortunes on the high cost of supporting someone who cannot walk or see or go to work when they could have been helped earlier for a fraction of the cost.

“The frustration is that nurses can sort out health problems swiftly and cheaply yet there are not enough of them. This is a major threat to national health but what is happening scares me.”

Figures from Diabetes UK shows that while levels of diabetes rose by ten per cent between 2010 and 2012 while the number of specialist nurses dropped by three per cent.

Research showed that a 1,000-bed hospital could save between £1.5 million and £4 million a year with specialist nurses keeping diabetic patients out of hospital or reducing their stays.

Professor Kevin Fenton, Director of Health and Wellbeing at Public Health England, said: “Public Health England takes the growing number of people at risk of diabetes very seriously. Eating a diet consistent with the eat well plate and being active, as part of healthy lifestyles, are key to preventing diabetes.

“Reversing the trends in ill health is complex and requires action at national, local, community, family and individual levels. No single action will tackle this issue alone.

“Action from manufacturers and retailers to reduce the calories, fat and sugar in the foods we buy have a role to play. As do schemes such as the NHS Health Check, which presents a real opportunity for those aged 40 – 74 to take early action to improve their health.”